knock-down-drag-out

or knock-down, drag-out

[ nok-doun-drag-out ]
See synonyms for knock-down-drag-out on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. marked by unrelenting violence: a knock-down-drag-out fight.

Origin of knock-down-drag-out

1
1820–30; adj. use of verb phrases knock down and drag out
  • Also knock-down-and-drag-out .

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use knock-down-drag-out in a sentence

  • There may be some knock-down-and-drag-out places, but these are not confined to the Bowery.

  • Few captains of artillery have the opportunity to make their own sister a target in a regular knock-down-and-drag-out fight.

    The Storm Centre | Charles Egbert Craddock
  • Are you going to have a regular knock-down-and-drag-out smash at St. George's?

    The Diva's Ruby | F. Marion Crawford
  • It was a knock-down-and-drag-out fight, in which hair pulling, gouging, and biting were allowed.

    Stories Of Georgia | Joel Chandler Harris
  • In a free-for-all knock-down-and-drag-out, kicking, gouging, and biting are all legitimate.

    The Blazed Trail | Stewart Edward White